BP facing massive Russian back tax bill

Russia’s tax authorities are demanding millions of pounds in back taxes from British oil giant BP, it was reported in Moscow today.

The Interfax news agency quoted a source in Russia’s state tax authority as saying that TNK-BP had been notified of a £47m (€67.1m) back tax claim for 2001. He said the amount of claim is preliminary and does not include fines.

TNK-BP has been presented with the results of the tax check, and the authorities are considering its complaints, Interfax said.

Checks are under way to examine whether Russian oil companies paid all the due taxes for 2001, the source said.

The investigation follows last month’s warning by a top Kremlin official that the government would force all Russian oil companies to pay off back taxes, following the example of the beleaguered Yukos oil company.